A crucial aspect of the state’s new Open Meetings and Access to Public Records acts is whether the attorney general is ready to be vigilant in enforcing the amended provisions approved by the General Assembly.

The good news for open government advocates is that Atty. Gen. Peter Kilmartin has announced that he and his staff are holding a July 27th information seminar at Roger Williams University School of Law in Bristol to explain details of the new law, which is designed to strengthen Rhode Island’s open government laws, which have too often been ignored in the past.

Congressman David Cicilline’s campaign says it raised more than $300,000 during the second quarter, leaving it with a war chest of more than $825,000 as the First District race starts to heat up in earnest.

Republican Brendan Doherty’s team said last week it expected a haul of about $200,000 during Q2. The campaign’s cash on hand was put at more than $660,000.

Despite repeated and sustained requests for interviews from a bevy of Rhode Island news organizations, Curt Schilling and his wife Shonda continue to utilize Facebook to fire back at reports emanating from the Ocean State.

In a victory for the Rhode Island media, the state Supreme Court has upheld a lower court’s dismissal of a defamation case filed by Providence restaurateur Robert I. “Bob” Burke against the Providence Journal, ProJo Statehouse chief Katherine Gregg, WPRO talk-show host Dan Yorke and Citadel Broadcasting, the former owner of WPRO.

Brendan Doherty’s congressional campaign raised about $200,000 in the recently ended second quarter of 2012, leaving the campaign with a little more than $660,00o in its war chest, according to political director Robert Coupe.

I’ve made an inquiry about David Cicilline’s comparable figures for Q2 and will update this post after getting that information.

House Speaker Gordon Fox, during a taping this morning of WPRI/WNAC-TV’s Newsmakers, said he plans to call a vote on same-sex marriage early in the next legislative session. While legislative elections this fall could change the composition of the House, Fox believes he has the votes to pass the measure (assuming he wins re-election).